Geezer Butler has revealed that he and Ozzy Osbourne are in agreement on playing one final Black Sabbath concert. The bassist also said that he has been in touch with Osbourne almost every day, following a long period of non-communication.
Butler opened up about the possibility of Sabbath reuniting for a final concert in a new interview with SiriusXM’s Eddie Trunk.
“Of course there’s an interest [on my part to do it], but there’s a big ‘but’ — you’d have to speak to Bill [Ward] about it,” Butler said [as transcribed by Blabbermouth], referencing the founding Sabbath drummer, who didn’t partake in the band’s final 2016/2017 concerts. “Everybody wants to do it [but I don’t know if he is] capable [of pulling it off].”
Osbourne has said that he hopes to play one more show with Black Sabbath’s original lineup. Butler also shares that sentiment.
“Ozzy was hoping to finish it all off next year back in Aston, at the Aston Villa [football stadium in Birmingham],” Butler said. “I’m definitely up for it, to finish the whole thing off. … Me and Ozzy have agreed, but I’m not sure about anybody else.”
At this point in the interview, Trunk asked Geezer about the part in his memoir where he mentions being out of contact with Ozzy for years. Thankfully, the longtime bandmates have mended that rift, with Butler saying that he’s been in touch with Ozzy “every day practically.”
“There was a lot of miscommunication [before],” Butler said. “He didn’t think I was asking about his health ’cause I know he’s been going through a lot of health problems, and I was sending all these messages to him and they weren’t being passed on to him. So he thought I was just ignoring him.”
He continued: “And then the weird way I had to go through Sabbath’s accountant to tell Ozzy I’d sent him all these things. ‘Cause he did this thing in Rolling Stone saying that I hadn’t been in touch with him about his health. So I went through the accountant, and he got in touch with Ozzy and said, ‘He’s just been sending you stuff. He wants to talk to you.’ And we’ve been fine since that.”
With two of the four Black Sabbath members on board, that leaves it up to Ward and guitarist Tony Iommi, who are both still active with their own separate projects. Ward has continuously expressed desire to play with Sabbath again, and last year, Iommi said he wouldn’t be opposed to a reunion if everyone is healthy enough.